Filling-feeder for automatic looms.



P. R P T. N N U G T T.. & E

FILLING FEEDER FOR AUTOMATIC .LOOMS.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 10, 1902.

30 MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD OUNNIFF AND JOHN V. OUNNIFF, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSAOHU- I SETTS, ASSIGNORS TO, DRAPER COMPANY, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHU- SETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FILLING-FEEDER FOR AUTOMATIC LOOMS. v

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,784, dated March 3, 1903.

Application filed November 10, 1902. Serial No. 130,626. (No model.)

To. all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWARD CUNNIFF and J oHNV. CUNNIFF, citizens of the United States, and residents of New Bedford, county of Bristol, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Filling-Feeders for Automatic Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,like charac- |o ters on the drawings representing likeparts.

' This invention relates more particularly to the filling-replenishing mechanism of automatic looms; and it has for its object the production of noveLmeans for detachably con- [5 necting the filling-end holder with the filling feeder or hopper of such mechanism.

In the type of replenishing mechanism shown in United States Patent No. 529,942 the filling-carriers are supported by and bezo tween two connected disks mounted to rotate in unison about a fixed stud, the outer end of the feeder so formed having an attached bell-like plate over which the filling ends from the tip ends of the carriers are led and supported thereby and 'securedat their extremities to a central knob-like end-holder.

The accumulation of waste filling on this holder must be removed froin time to time by the weaver, and this has commonly been 0 done by cutting the filling off with a knife.

In our present invention we detachably connect the filling-end holder with the feeder, so

that when necessary it can be instantly removed and the filling readily stripped therefrom, and in providing simple and effective means for locking the holder upon the feeder we have obviated the necessity for the use of a wrench or other tool in applying or removing the holder.

Figure l is a front elevationand part section of a filling-feeder of the type referred to with the filling-end holder in position thereon and retained in position'by means embodying one form of our invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the supporting hub or bossfor the shank of the filling-endv holder, the shank of'the latter being partly broken out to show the locking means.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, enlarged, of the filling-end holderand its shank, showing the part of the locking means thereon; and Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line t 4, Fig. 2, looking to the left, showing the locking-pin in the ofiset of the locking-groove to lock the filling-end holder in place.

The filling-feeder comprising the connected plates cc, Fig. 1, mounted to rotate in unison on a fixed stud, and thebell-like supporting-plate I), having a hub b to receive the stud,may be'and are all substantially as in said patent and operate in well-known manner. The hub b is herein shown as extended beyond the outerface of the plate I), as at b its bore 3 being smaller than that of the hub 22 to receive the reduced portion d of the shank d of the filling-end holder d (Shown separately in Fig. 3.) An annular shoulder 5 at the junction of the shank and the reduced portion abuts against the outer end of the hub orboss b Figs. 1 and 2, and

positions the holder, it being understood that the filling end is carried around the periphery of the plate band given several turns around the shank of the holder, Fig. 1. /In order to readily lock the latter in place, while at the same time permitting its easy removal whennecessary, we have provided a simple and eificient locking means which operates without the aid of any tool and which is concealed from View when in use.

Referring to Fig. 3, the reduced end d of the shank of the holder has a locking-groove therein leading from itsextremity longitudinally, as at m, and shown as substantially rectangular in cross-section, said groove having a bend or locking-offset m near its inner end. A flat springs is inserted in the groove m and is secured to the side wall thereof opposite the oifset m, the free inner end of the in the hub b the pin 11 entering the end of groove m, and as the shank is pushed into the hub the pin willbe brought opposite the locking-offset m as the shoulder 5 brings up against the end of the hub. As the pin traverses the groove m it presses the spring 3 against the adjacent side wall; but as soon as the ofiset is opposite the pin the tension of the spring acts to slightly turn the shank, and thereby cause the pin to enter the offset. The end-holder is thereby securely locked in operative position on the filling-feeder, the spring holding the pin in the locking-offset. In order to detach the holder, it is given a part turn in the direction of arrow 25, Fig. 4:, to disengage the pin b from the oifset m, compressing the spring, and a straight outward pull withdraws the shank from the hub, the pin traveling along the straight groove 072. When the filling-end holder is detached, the accumulated filling-waste can be readily stripped therefrom over the small end of the shank, the main part of the latter being slightly tapered to facilitate the stripping.

It will be observed that the locking means is entirely concealed when the holder is in position, leaving nothing to catch lint or yarn, and thereby become clogged up, and by making the locking means operative without any tool a practical source of trouble is avoided, for, as a general thing, the less tools a weaver is permitted to have the better will the loom operate.

Our invention may be changed or modified by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, one practical embodiment of the invention being herein illustrated and described in detail.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Afilling-feeder forautomaticlooms, provided with a hub at its outer end, a filling-end holder having a shank to enter and be supported by the hub, and a spring-catch to detachably retain the shank therein with the holder in operative position.

trolled means Wholly inclosed by said hub to detachably retain the shank therein.

3. A rotatable filling-feeder for automatic looms, provided with a hub at its outer end, a filling-end holder having a shank to enter and be supported by the hub, a pin on one of said parts to enter a locking-groove in the other part, and a spring to retain the pin in locking position in the groove.

4. A rotatable filling-feeder for automatic looms, provided with a hub at its outer end, having a locking-pin projecting from its inner wall, a filling-end holder having a shank provided with a locking-groove to receive the pin, and a spring to retain the latter in operative engagement with the groove and prevent removal of the holder.

5. A rotatable filling-feeder for automatic looms, provided with a hub at its outer end, having a locking-pin projecting from its inner wall, a filling-end holder having a shank provided with a longitudinal groove having a lateral locking-oifset, and a spring within the groove opposite the offset, the pin entering the groove when the shank is inserted in the hub and being directed by the spring into the ofiset, to lock the holder in position.

b. A rotatable filling-feeder for automatic looms, a detachable filling-end holder, and means to lock it automatically in operative position on the filling-feeder, when applied thereto.

7. A rotatable filling-feeder for automatic looms, provided with a hub at its outer end, a filling-end holder having a shank to enter and be supported by the hub, and spring-controlled locking means on the shank and hub, insertion of the shank into the hub causing said means to automatically lock them together, a partial rotation of the holder unlocking the shank and hub and permitting their separation.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD CUNNIFF. JOHN V. OUNNIFF.

Witnesses:

FREDERIC S. MONROE, EDMUND J. WHALLEY. 

